Skid marks and yellow caution tape mark the scene of a fatal accident on Page Mill Road last week, above. Flowers and a makeshift memorial later populated the site.

A Los Altos Hills resident walking her dog last week discovered a pickup truck lodged in Matadero Creek and dialed 911. When authorities arrived, they found the driver deceased, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.

The driver, identified as Benjamin Tobin, 28, of Palo Alto, apparently veered off Page Mill Road between Interstate 280 and Paseo Del Roble Drive and crashed into the creek. The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office is investigating the cause of death.

Although Capt. Ken Binder of the sheriff’s office said the accident is under investigation, he noted that no other vehicle is believed to be involved. There are no sharp curves or steep declines on that stretch of Page Mill, near the border of Los Altos Hills and Palo Alto.

This is the first fatal vehicle accident of the year in Los Altos Hills, according to Binder. There were none last year.

Anyone who may have witnessed the accident is asked to call the sheriff’s office at (408) 868-6600.